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Evidence of battery was right there on videotape: Editorial

NOPD dashboard video shows officer hitting handcuffed suspectIn this video from an NOPD squad car dashboard camera, New Orleans police officer Jamal Kendrick can be seen hitting a suspect after handcuffing him on on the ground next to this car after a high speed chase. Kendrick was acquitted by Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Ben Willard of malfeasance in office on Friday in the October 2012 beating of the man.

The video from a dashboard camera in a police cruiser shows former New Orleans officer Jamal Kendrick handcuffing a man at the end of a high-speed chase and then striking him at least a half-dozen times.

Several police supervisors testified in court in October that the handcuffed man didn't pose a threat and wasn't resisting the officer. "People can still try to kick back up at officers while they're handcuffed, or to try to head butt them, but I didn't see any of that," Sgt. Kevin Stamps, who handled the department's internal investigation, testified. In fact, the man starts to drop to the ground as soon as he steps out of the car.

But the video and police testimony weren't enough for Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Ben Willard. He found Mr. Kendrick not guilty of malfeasance in office, saying that prosecutors hadn't proved a battery occurred. Apparently he bought the defense argument that because the victim didn't appear at the trial, there was no battery.

That sounds like a desperate argument, except that it worked.

District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said the video should have been enough evidence, and it is hard to understand why it wasn't. The video is clear. It was accepted into evidence and shown in court. The identity of the officer wasn't in dispute, and he was recorded repeating this phrase: "Not in my f---ing district."

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Bowman argued that the officer's words were meant to intimidate the victim and remind him he had no power. That does seem to be the message.

Testimony from police supervisors that the officer was in the wrong ought to have cemented the case.

Mr. Kendrick's lawyer was dismissive of "some guys in white shirts at police headquarters" deciding later that actions taken by officers during a high-pressure moment were improper. That sort of "Monday morning quarterbacking" could paralyze officers faced with making snap judgments on how much force is OK.

That argument doesn't hold up, though. Mr. Kendrick and his partner thought the car they were chasing had been involved in a robbery, but the victim was on the ground in handcuffs when Mr. Kendrick decided to knock him around.

He should have known that was wrong.

It also turned out that the vehicle hadn't been involved in the robbery. As Mr. Bowman told Judge Willard, "I submit that the message we should send to the people of this community is that they do not have to worry about driving around in their cars at night. They do not have to worry about being verbally accosted or physically abused by the Police Department."

The judge declined to send that message.

Prosecutors, who weren't able to find the victim, believe that he was too fearful to appear. Given the fact that an officer smacked him around in plain view of other officers and the department's video camera, it wouldn't be a stretch to think he might be afraid to testify.

Mr. Cannizzaro worries that the judge's ruling will have a chilling effect on efforts to rid NOPD of officers who misbehave. "This backwards way of thinking unfortunately thwarts our efforts to try to get a better Police Department," he said of Judge Willard's ruling.

That would be unfortunate. Mr. Kendrick was suspended without pay in March when Mr. Cannizzaro's office filed the malfeasance charges against him. He was dismissed by the Police Department in July, but in a different case. Internal investigators said he had improperly discarded marijuana found on a man he picked up on outstanding warrants. He should have documented the marijuana, department officials said. Mr. Kendrick is asking the Civil Service Commission to overrule his dismissal.

Let's hope the firing sticks. New Orleanians shouldn't have to worry about someone with such poor judgment getting his badge back.